The invention relates to a headrest for a vehicle seat in which, in the event of an accident, at least one section of the headrest that is oriented towards the head of the seat occupant may be displaced, due to the action of a drive device, from a working position into a safety position in the direction of the head of the seat occupant.
A headrest is disclosed in the publication DE 199 23 909 A1, which consists of a base body rigidly connected to the backrest of the vehicle seat via retaining bars and optionally also in a height-adjustable manner, and which is arranged in a padded segment formed in a trough-like manner. In the event of an accident, the padded segment is moved in a translatory manner toward the head of the seat occupant in order to prevent whiplash. The force required therefor is produced by a spring pretensioned in the direction of displacement within a telescopic guide device. In the published patent specification DE 39 00 495 A1 a further headrest is disclosed in which, as a result of an accident, a padded segment may be pivoted forward relative to the base body about a fixed rotational axis. A spring-loaded piston/cylinder arrangement in conjunction with a supporting lever serves as a drive device in which the piston rod is articulated in the region of the rotational axis on the base body and the cylinder on the padded segment. Moreover, a headrest is further disclosed in the publication DE 199 41 712 C1, in which a displaceable padded element is connected to the base body via a scissors mechanism, by means of which the padded element may be moved forward from a resting position into a working position. A headrest is, moreover, also disclosed in the publication DE 10 2004 016 474 B3. In this case, sections of the headrest are moved apart in a telescopic manner, in order to adopt a safety position of the headrest. Moreover, a headrest for a vehicle seat is disclosed in the publication DE 103 48 939 B3 in which, for reasons of comfort, the headrest is adjusted according to a movement sequence, and a further movement sequence being performed when, in the event of an accident, the headrest is transferred from its normal position into a protective position. Finally, an active headrest which is adjustable in a linear manner is disclosed in the publication DE 10 2005 052 766 B3.